Archive for March, 2011
Sprung-ish
Spring is in the process of sprung-ing here in Richmond and we’re boiling over with excitement. Warm weather? Yes please. Green trees? Bring it. Flowers blooming? Duh, winning.
So to those of you who aren’t on the brink of spring yet, we thought we’d send a virtual dose of the season – courtesy of some photos of what’s starting to happen around here – like the little buds that are showing up on the hydrangeas that we’ve inherited.
Spring is especially exciting this year because we get to be surprised by whatever magically decides to pop up around the new house – and we finally get to see what our property looks like in all it’s bloomin’ glory. The daffodils are already on blast. Holla.
Oh and for those who don’t recognize the house above, it’s the back of ours. It’s definitely different than the original brick ranch facade in the front, right? We think it’s really funny that the addition was only built about 10 years later (in the 70′s instead of the 60′s) but it has such a different vibe. Someday we hope to unify things. Not sure how yet, but maybe it’ll come to me in a dream. Sidenote #1: I once had a dream about tiling our old shower surround with white subway tile about a year before actually deciding to embark on that adventure (and to use white subway tile).
But back to the weather. Even Burger is itching to get outside and kick off what will be many months of bug hunting in a new backyard. Here he is gazing longingly out the living room window. Sidenote #2: This shot of the bushes makes Sherry twitchy because she wants to trim them like crazy.
As for the temp, the daily highs around here have been wavering between the mid-50s and the high-60s, even stretching into the 70′s a couple of weeks back. And that means yard work is quickly creeping to the top of our to-do list (especially since we got started a few weeks back). Which reminds us, we owe you a more official “tour” of the exterior of our house. So put that in your “stay tuned” folder.
The only bummer that spring has sprung on us has to do with the tree in the front of the house. It has grown (or was planted?) crazy close to the foundation…
… and stretches up the side of the porch, sort of feathering out over the walkway to the front door. We’ve always known it probably has to go (aka we should take it out before it takes out any of the house). But it’s charming, darn it.
Especially covered in white blooms. See them below? Sidenote #3: I just typed “see them blow?” which was oddly entertaining to me (I dunno, kinda like “thar she blows”), so I stopped writing this post and told Sherry about it. She only found it marginally funny. Maybe it was a you-had-to-be-there thing.
Anyway, don’t those white flowers in the picture above (not blow) make you love it? Maybe white flowers are the tree equivalent to sad puppy dog eyes. Seems like a shame to remove that sweet little tree now. Especially since we don’t think we can save him since he’s basically on top of the house (so we anticipate a crazy root situation when we start digging). Oh and while we’re on the subject of said tree, does anyone know what it is? We have no idea.
Despite our little tree drama, we’re ready to enjoy spring to the fullest (holy buckets, it’ll be Clara’s first birthday before we know it). I wonder how good she’d be at mulching. Hmm…
Is anyone else getting a good dose of spring fever yet? Are temperatures up and flowers out in you area? Who’s shoveling snow today?
Feelin’ Lucky
Here it is folks, our monthly “thank you” to our sponsors for making the other 30+ posts possible (and keeping us Petersiks fed & sheltered). Instead of listing names, we like to share stuff that makes us inspired/hyper – not that we’ve been gifted anything (here’s our no-swag policy). So these are just happy go lucky favorites – you know, in honor of St. Paddy’s Day. And there’s something in it for you. No, not a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow (just some leprechaun humor there) but some sweet reader discounts at the bottom of this post. Because we love four-leaf-clover you.
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- Sleek options for updating kitchen cabinets from Liberty Hardware.
- FLOR carpet tiles that add bold “More Rockin’” flavor (get it?)
- Graphic prints that make a short and sweet statement from 10 Camelia Way.
- Colorful modern options from Shades of Light for updating an old lamp.
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- Learning new things from The Tile Shop, like that this onyx tile is translucent.
- This ikat-inspired pillow from Z Gallerie that has Sherry’s name written all over it.
- WallQuotes‘ collection of office-appropriate decals that are funny, inspiring, and sassy.
- Fresh recycled glass tile from Design for Less (this one’s called “Springtime”).
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- Browsing the home design gallery from My Design Guide‘s talented posse of experts.
- Royal Design Studio‘s stencils that stretch our “a-stencil-can-do-that?” imagination.
- This print from Hoot Design Co. Don’t worry, there’s an “Oh happy boy” version too.
- Expert scrapbooker Ali Edwards‘ latest workshop for scrapbooking while traveling.
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- That Heart & Stone Jewelry even has us guys covered with a custom men’s necklace.
- Metal panels from CanvasRox, which were featured on The Nate Berkus Show.
- Wallets from Jenna Lou Designs that you can design from over 300 fabric options.
- Tapping Networx‘s community users and experts for advice and feedback galore.
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- Frame The Date‘s beautiful custom frames (which work even without a date in ‘em).
- Spring-y jotter notebooks from Smock Paper which are made from recycled paper.
- This “Windy Tree” decal from Trendy Peas that has us itching for warm breezy days.
- Another item that’s getting us ready for spring – this print from Freshline Illustration.
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- Lisa Leonard‘s luck-inspired necklace for St. Paddy’s Day – and every other day too.
- The fun antiques you can discover when searching by color (like green!) on Ruby Lane.
- Finding outdoor items on their sister site Ruby Plaza, like this iron hummingbird sundial.
- Heady Bed‘s seemingly endless options for one-of-a-kind upholstered headboards.
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- House 8810‘s quirky items for happying up your home, like this cheeky dish towel.
- Now for some gratuitous shots of our kids being weird – like Clara gumming kale.
- And Burger sunning himself on the steps of my parents’ house with Superman arms.
- And Clara The Contortionist (an outtake from her latest weekly photo). What a weirdo.
And now for the JUICY DISCOUNTS:
- Shades of Light: 10% off using code YHL0215
- WallQuotes.com: 15% off with the code YHL15
- The Tile Shop: 10% off when you use the code YHL10
- Freshline: 10% off any orders with the code YHL10
- Heart & Stone Jewelry: 10% off your purchase with the code YHL10
- My Design Guide: 10% off your purchase with the code YHL10
- Royal Design Studio: 10% off stencils with code YHL10
- Jenna Lou Designs: 10% off your with code YHL10
- CanvasRox: 10% off your with code YHL10
- FLOR: Click for details on how to get 15% off (thru March 26)
Five Dolla Art
Remember that grid of eight Ribba frames above our sectional (that we got right the second time around)?
Well, we figured out some in-the-meantime “art” for them (so we don’t have to stare at those brown squares every night). You know, until we come up with something better. And it only cost us five bucks. Okay, $5.17 if you’re being picky. So worth it.
We’re still not 100% sure what we want there in the long run, but we’re leaning towards something graphic and colorful. And since the brown frame back is the opposite of that, we wanted to at least put something in there temporarily that wouldn’t cost much or take any time to toss together. Enter one of our favorite solutions: 12 x 12″ craft paper from Michael’s.
We picked out eight sheets that complement Sue (aka: our inspiration napkin). They were the perfect size to slip in our 12 x 12 Ribba frames and at about 60 cents a pop it was kind of a no-brainer.
We tried a few different arrangements on the floor before putting anything in frames. Since we had picked a couple of duplicate colors, we wanted to keep them far enough away from one another, so we ended up with this grouping:
The frames definitely helped them feel less like sixty-cent craft paper and more like something worthy of being displayed behind glass (seriously, what can’t you slap in a frame for a more polished look?). It definitely added that temporary injection of color we were looking for, and it was kind of reminiscent of the cool art that we saw – and loved – in this House Crashing adventure from back in the day (aka: a month ago).
It’s kind of like a simplified version of Sue the napkin now lives on our walls, eh?
We’ve been living with them for the last 24 hours and might be in danger of falling in love with them as a not-so-temporary solution. Uh oh.
They just look so much nicer than the brown frame backs they covered. Actually, what we’re thinking that we might do is try to build on the concept somehow, like adding some modern white doilies, stencils, or layering some other pattern in front of them so we still can enjoy the color scheme that “shows through” while creating something a little more graphic. Almost like a custom version of those Classical Symmetry prints from Crate & Barrel (this set of six retails for $369, btw).
Or we might still consider doing the personal photo thing by using the colorful paper as large mats around small square black & white pictures. Sherry even mentioned sticking tiny fortune cookie fortunes in the center of each colored sheet of paper. So you have to get really close to read them. ‘Til we decide on anything, we’re kinda loving the cost-of-a-Subway-footlong solution for these eight frames. And of course we’ll keep you posted when we finally get around to updating them for the long haul.
Do you guys have any colorful art that you’re loving? Or affordable sets of images that you’ve spotted? Oh and how cool is this solution to empty Ribba frames that Krissy posted on our Facebook page? As Sherry says (way too much) “um yeah, love it.”
Psst- We announced the winner of this week’s giveaway. Click here to see if it’s you.
Bringing Stodgy Back
Get this. Apparently someone thinks we’re sexy. Well, technically they think we’re “stodgy.” But since they’re filming a series of short video profiles entitled Stodgy is Sexy, we’re gonna claim the sexy compliment as well… thanks to the transitive property of, um, compliments. Yeah, I just broke out “transitive property.” Guess I can’t stop the sexiness once it’s unleashed.
Here’s the scoop, back in January we were contacted by a documentary filmmaker out of NYC who was creating three minute video profiles of people who embodied a trend of folks returning to old school values like thrift and simplicity (aka, stodginess). They thought we fit the bill, so we accepted the invitation and soon we found them setting up shop in our future dining room for an afternoon. It didn’t even feel real. And four hours later they were gone without leaving a trace of evidence they had ever arrived. We almost thought we made it up, except for a few pictures like this on our camera:
It felt especially surreal since our brains were still scrambled from the move. We’d only lived here about a month (hence no dining table yet) so we’re sure the neighbors were wondering who the heck moved into their ‘hood with things like this hanging out on our front porch. What a letdown it’s gonna be for them when they meet us and we’re nobody interesting.
The crew was really nice and a good time was had by all. It was especially fun exposing Clara to some of the craziness that somehow finds its way into our house every once and a while. A window into her brain: Cameras and lights? Who cares. But blocks. Now those are exciting!
How do you answer questions on camera with a vocal baby singing in the background? We didn’t really think that through until they “landed.” Good thing the producer has a son about Clara’s age, so she was great at keeping our little bean busy while we blabbed our faces off to the cameras. Cheerios helped too. And here’s how they boiled down our afternoon into less than three minutes of stodginess sexiness (watch it below or on the Stodgy is Sexy website):
You can also read more about the project as a whole and watch some of the other (under three minute) profiles by visiting StodgyIsSexy.com. Or you can check out this teaser video about the whole project that they cobbled together with fellow Stodgies, like Chip Kidd, a book designer we’ve both admired for years (I even got his book from Sherry two birthdays ago). We’re honored just to share a one minute clip with him and the other greats of the group.
And for those of you who have a little stodgy in you (if you’ve got it, flaunt it), here’s how you could come to find a giant spotlight on your porch. The site is also welcoming entries to be part of their series, so if you think you fit the “stodgy” bill, join in on the fun here. I mean who doesn’t want to be on a site that says “We Are The Revolution. We Are Boring.” in bold letters across the top? Amazing.
PS: Even though the Stodgy is Sexy project is sponsored, we’re not affiliated with their sponsors and weren’t compensated for our participation. We just did it to feel sexy.
That’s The Way, Uh Huh, Uh Huh, We Like It
We’re doing a little bit of happy dance boogieing on our new rug, hence this post’s title. Yes, it’s like High School Musical over here, lots of dancing and occasionally there’s even some ballad-y singing about our feelings. Feel free to click play and get in on it.
Now that we’ve gotten through that little dance interlude, here’s the new rug:
Oh happy day, we love it.
Here’s a recent shot of the space without it for comparison.
Isn’t it amazing what a rug – even a neutral and “safe” jute one – can do to tie things together and add balance to a 15 x 16′ bedroom (15 x 21′ if you count the sink nook’s depth). Well, there’s more going on when it comes to bedroom cha-cha-cha-changes, but we’ll get to those in a bit. As for the rug, we’re loving the horizontal placement in the space (which still frees up 3 feet of hardwood flooring on each side and 6 feet of it between the foot of the rug and the wall – actually it’s 11′ between the foot of the rug and the sink nook), which makes for some great “flow.” Here’s a more rug-oriented shot so you can see some of the hardwood floor around it:
Placing it vertically in our room (since it’s a vertical space) was our first instinct, but before ordering it we taped it off on the floor in either orientation and realized that we liked having more rug on each side of the bed to step down on and balance things out. So wide-ways it went. Here’s a wide shot of the whole room for ya:
We left our ubiquitous faux sheepskin rugs on either side of the bed, just because there’s nothing better than stepping out of bed onto them in the morning. And visually we like that pop of white on each side to sort of triangulate with the feathery white light fixture to create even more balance. Yes, Dad The Math Teacher, I worked “triangulate” into a post. How many Best Daughter Ever points is that? Oh and see that fluffy middle cushion on the bed? Target. $12.
We’ve always been huge fans of jute and this rug is softer than any other that we’ve owned. And just as we suspected, we love the subtle nubby diamond pattern going on. Not too obvious and compete-y with the patterned duvet, but not too flat and blah like some of the other woven jute rugs that we looked at. And we’re so happy with the color too. Not too orange or tan (which might make it disappear right into our floor, which kinda of defeats the purpose of a big rug to balance the room out and tie things together in the first place).
Now back to those other tweaks going on in that we mentioned. At first we were averse to the idea of removing Ed the Bed‘s top slats, but after living with things for a bit and the arrival of our new rug we decided to play around and give it a go. What’s the worst that could happen? And what do you know, we love his little haircut of sorts. Sometimes it’s just nice to take a little off the top. Removing those slats does nothing to compromise the sturdiness of the bed (they can best be described as 100% decorative) and we like how it opened things up and allowed us to move our new light up a smidge since we no longer had to worry about the petals bumping into Ed’s top rail.
We’re loving these little switcheroos for now, but who knows what else will change (or un-change) as we add other stuff into the room. It’s definitely still in progress (to do: add some wall art, bring in an antique dresser, eventually upgrade our nightstands, possibly change the lamp shades, etc). Oh and we might add little finials to the top of each bed post, just for a more finished look. We’ll see. The best thing ever is that even after raising the light a bit it’s still visible in the mirror when our heads hit the pillow in bed (see that magic, along with my hubby’s socks here). It’s a New Years Eve Miracle I tell ya.
Oh and about the absence of the bench at the foot of the bed in all the pics above. Such a short dark bench under the light was making the room look a bit top-heavy and unbalanced, but the one we’d like to someday upgrade to would ideally be as long (or almost as long) as the bed. We just thought removing it for some pics might help you guys “see” past that awkwardly small brown rectangle in the room. But for now it’s still in here since it serves a nice little Burger-related function (he hops on and off of it to get into the much-taller-than-our-last-one bed). So here’s how the bedroom actually looks these days, bench and all:
To go back to our post title (ah full circle, it’s like an episode of Family Ties) we, uh huh, uh huh, really like the new rug. And as for Clara and Burger, they love it too. Oddly enough for semi similar reasons: traction for Burger and texture for Clara. She likes to pet it and “pinch” the nubs, and he loves to run circles around it (which he can never do on slippery wood floors). Ah sweet rug victory. There’s nothing like it.
And now, just for fun, we’ll leave you with a shot of the room as it looked a little over two months ago. It really feels a lot more like “our room” than it did back then.
Gotta love that Christmas tree in the background.
